Vet’s service debated in puppy-killing case

Howard Roden

Published 4:59 pm, Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Montgomery County jury that convicted an Afghan War veteran Tuesday of killing an 8-week-old puppy during a dispute over a cell phone bill sentenced the former Marine from Willis to five years’ probation.

A nine-woman, three-man jury found George Wayne Hughes, 26, guilty of committing cruelty to a non-livestock animal. The state jail felony is punishable by a prison term of 180 days to two years.

Prosecutors sought jail time for the former Willis resident, while defense attorney John Choate asked for probation. Without a prior felony conviction, Hughes was eligible for probation.

Once the jury returned the verdict, 221st state District Court Judge Lisa Michalk ordered 120 days in the Montgomery County Jail as a condition. She also included anger management and community service.

Choate was “very happy” with the outcome but believes the case was “politically motivated” by the prosecution’s view on animal rights.

“They (lead prosecutor Amanda Petroff and Assistant DA Shanna Redwine) never gave consideration to my client’s military record. He was directly in combat and suffered injuries, serving his country,” Choate said. “Thank God for a jury with common sense.”

Petroff acknowledged trying the case represented a “challenge” for both sides.

“The jury had a difficult job in considering all the evidence in this case, including the brutal nature of the crime and considering the defendant’s military service,” Petroff said. “We respect their verdict.”

Hughes served in Afghanistan from 2009-10, where he was awarded several letters of commendation, he told the jury during the punishment phase.

Hughes was at his sister’s house in Cut and Shoot on March 18, 2012, when a fight broke out between Hughes’ sister and her roommate over a cell phone bill. The roommate’s parents came over to mediate the dispute.

According to the prosecution, Hughes became verbally aggressive toward everyone there. That’s when Hughes walked over to an outdoor kennel full of puppies owned by the roommate and started swinging the dogs around by their hind legs, banging the puppies against each other.

Hughes slammed one of the mixed-breed puppies against the side of a house until it died. The other dogs died several weeks later, Petroff said. The roommate’s father called 911, and deputies responded to the scene.

Hughes said he killed the puppy because it was sick and that he would avoid trouble because it was “just a mutt.”

Choate suggested to the jury Hughes’ violent outbursts were a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which he acquired over in Afghanistan. Wiping away tears on several instances during the punishment phase, Hughes recalled the “parts of bodies” he would see on house-by-house patrols.

“He was asked to do the unnatural,” Choate said about Hughes’ tour of duty. “He was over there fighting for us, rooting out terror. Then he comes home and we expect him to forget everything he has done and seen?”

Amanda Hughes, George Hughes’ estranged wife, testified Hughes was “scary” and “not all there,” but Choate noted she never said he touched her in anger since he returned from Afghanistan. George Hughes now lives in Mexia.